Like Hawke, like chick

The morning began like any other, waking to find myself wrapped in Hawke's arms. Not wanting this precious moment disturbed, I wriggled backwards into his warmth. A smile came to sit on my lips as his hold became just a little tighter. Whilst it may have been true that I preferred a more dominant role in our relationship, it was most certainly he who was the cuddler. The role of "being the one held" I was all too happy to comply with.

'Mornin', 'eto.' Hawke's warm breath tickled the back of my neck.

'Good morning, Amatus.' I turned over to kiss him chastely. 'What does the day hold for us?'

'I don't have to be at the Circle till midday, so I believe I have a free morning.' He smirked.

'I see.' His fingers gently moved to trail the lyrium swirled where the ties at my neck had come loose. 'I'm sure we can find something to-'

'Pater! Daddy!'

The bedroom door flew open to a blur of mass that threw itself on the foot of the bed. Sitting up revealed Orana stood at the door with her arms crossed. Hawke gave a chuckle and pushed himself into a sitting position too. The blur, it turned out, was our son. Already six-years-old and more than a handful for the elven woman. Gaius most definitely took after Hawke. He almost never thought about anything before he set out to achieve it, and always let his heart rule his head. Most would consider this a terrible quality, but I knew better. Such a personality had allowed Hawke to wait for me all those years ago, to come barging into the Imperium to rescue me from the hands of a Magister once again. So long as his heart ruled, I knew Gaius would grow into a fine young man. He just needed to find someone who could talk sense into him every once in a while.

'Gaius Hawke, what have I told you about knocking?!' The servant scolded, storming over to grab him by the scruff of his shirt. 'Your fathers need privacy. They will leave their room when they are ready and not before.'

'Orana, it's fine, honestly.' Hawke laughed.

The boy was released and scrambled closer towards us, not stopping till he was safely curled in my arms. With a roll of her eyes the she-elf left, eager to begin breakfast no doubt. Gaius took a moment to realise danger was gone before uncurling himself. Green eyes beheld Hawke and I, worriedly looking for some trace of a temper or an impending telling off.

'I am sorry.' He bowed his little head, pointed ears drooping.

'Gaius, we're not mad.' I smiled and hugged him close. 'You wanted to greet us. How can we be angry at that?'

Slowly the boy nodded. He looked up and grinned as Hawke reached over to ruffle his dark hair.

'So why the wake up alert? Is it Darkspawn? A high-dragon?' Hawke smirked before grabbing me by the shoulders and pretending to hide behind my back. Peeking out he let his voice shake. 'Auntie Isabela's back from Llomerryn?'

'No.' Gaius laughed. 'I wanted to show you both something.'

With that he crawled to the foot of the bed again. Hawke moved to sit straight again, adjusting his shirt where it had pulled uncomfortably in his movement. I shot him a look. The mage had been getting ridiculous notions in his head lately, trying to teach our son the art of daggers and swordsmanship. Of course I had put a stop to it immediately. The boy was six! I could not handle it if he hurt himself or if Aveline brought him to our door for harassing the guards again. Varric did not help the matter, filling his head with stories about how his daddy fought off the Arishok single-handedly, or how his pater pulled out the still-beating heart of his former master. Sometimes I wished I could wrap the boy in soft linen and bundle him away from the cruel world Hawke and I had faced. But such was not the way the world worked. One day someone would threaten Thedas again, and no doubt being a Hawke, the boy would charge straight to the populace's defence. I agreed that he needed to learn to fight, but later when he was older… much older.

'I swear I didn't give him another weapon.' Hawke whispered. 'And I did ask Varric to tone down those "legends" to less gory versions.'

I made a jovial noise of disbelief. Hawke was one to keep his word, that I never doubted.

'Ok I'm ready.'

Hawke and I both looked to him, knelt on the sheets and completely empty-handed. His hands were held towards him as if clutching an invisible ball, and his expression strained as if trying to burn a hole into his palms. At first I thought it some sort of mime-play. Then came the familiar sting; that uncomfortable feeling of electricity shooting through every white line on my body, igniting them with a blue haze. Within seconds Gaius held fire cupped within his tiny hands.

'Andraste's tits…' Hawke gaped.

I was too stunned to even chastise my husband's language. Gaius was casting magic. Our son is a mage. The boy looked happily from his flames to the pair of us. Slowly his expression shifted from joy to concern.

'Pater why are you glowing?'

'Pater does that when magic is near him.' Reading the situation quickly, Hawke got out of bed and pulled the boy up into his arms. He smiled and hugged him close as the child dispersed the fire. 'I am so proud of you, Gai! When did you realise you could do magic?'

'I accidentally set fire to the rosebush yesterday.' He confessed. So that's why Orana is in a foul mood. 'I really practiced last night in my room and now I can make it appear when I want!'

'Practicing is very important.' The elder mage nodded and planted a kiss atop his head. 'We'll have you enrol in the Circle next week, but till then no more magic ok? And be careful with your emotions.'

'I will!' Gaius beamed as he was set down and ran from the room calling for Niht.

Hawke closed the bedroom door after him. Back to the wood he held me carefully in his gaze. 'Leto; talk to me, Love.'

'What am I supposed to say, Garrett?' I snapped; my voice harsher than I intended. 'Of course I'm bothered by this! Our son has just cast fire. You, of all people, know what kind of door this has kicked open.'

'Ease, Love.' Walking over to perch on the edge of the bed, he took my hands and kissed both pairs of knuckles. 'The Kirkwall Circle isn't like it used to be, and some rules are a little more lax. Gai will still be able to live with us, he just needs to attend the Circle every day like a school.' He looked to me a moment, concern written across his features. 'Or is it your past that worries you?'

I frowned. 'I do not doubt our son; he is a good boy. So, in short, no it is not my experiences of mages affecting me. It has taken time, Garrett, but I now see not all mages are wicked and that like all men it depends on the individual. I'd be a liar if I said Danarius and Kaith don't still haunt me, but I am stronger than I was then and again I have you by my side to keep me strong.

'No. What concerns me about Gaius is his safety. Garrett, you and all mages are constantly at war with demons of the Fade. Is it so wrong that I don't want our son mixed up in all that? I can kill a slaver or bribe a city-guard, but I- I can't stop what goes on in the Fade and in his dreams at night. Even when I was there myself, back when we helped that half-elf boy, I gave in. I betrayed the man I loved in exchange for the chance to gain power. I- I-'

'Still can't forgive yourself?' With a gentle tug Hawke pulled me against his chest. A tender hand came to caress my hair. 'Leto, we've been over this. There's nothing to forgive. I can't coddle you and lie saying Gai will never be tempted, but I can promise you that we'll teach him how to resist, how to know helpful spirits from demons. Our boy is clever, like his pater, so don't worry anymore. Just trust me, please, Leto.'

Slowly I nodded. 'I do.'

'Now about this unnecessary guilt you're still carrying.' He ran a finger down the length of my ear, causing a subconscious sigh to escape me. 'I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't want to worry you, but I nearly gave into a demon. Twice actually, but I managed to realise what the offers were and stop myself from taking them. When we had our "little break",' I winced but he simply stroked my ear again to calm me, 'a Desire demon came to me. She promised she could make you love me and when I refused her she offered to take away your pain. Of course after a moment's pause I realised she would have tricked me – removed your memory or forced you to love me anyway – so again I said "no". But for a second, if it meant you wouldn't suffer anymore, a little of my blood seemed a token to pay.

'The second time was in Minrathous. When I saw how far Kaith had worked his blood magic on you I began to lose hope. A Rage demon offered me the power to break the spell and get revenge, and I was so so tempted. But I knew that if I were to rescue you that way, you would never look at me the way you do now. I wanted to stay true to the mage you trusted, to the mage you loved. If I gave in then I was truly no better than Danarius or any other blood-mage.

'You kept me on the right path, Leto; and together we can do the same for Gai. So please, Love, don't worry about any of this anymore.'

With a gentle nod I cuddled closer to him, feeling the overwhelming urge to be held. Hawke did so without complaint, tenderly running a hand through my hair and kissing my brow. It would take time for me to lose all worries about our new situation, and my fear of Gaius becoming possessed would never truly leave me. But with Hawke as his tutor and his own steadfastness I was comforted to know he would be protected.

'I love you, Garrett.' I tilted my head back to look into those amber eyes. 'And thank you.'

He gave his usual smirk and leaned down to kiss me. 'Anytime, Leto. Anytime.'

Translations (non-canon phrases done by Google Translate, so no doubt very poorly)

1) Amatus. = Tevene word for one's lover, literally means "Beloved" or "Darling".

2) Pater. = Father.